Catching up slowly

So this week has been a bit of a catch up week, bugger all typing work unfortunately and now I get to spend today cleaning the house! Fun fun fun....... I sent off my black and green colour challenge for SC yesterday, as did Cass. I actually ended up leaving the layout I wanted to send at home (forgotten in the morning rush!) and because yesterday was the last day to send entries in (via Express Post mind you!) I had to do a whole new layout while I was at work. I'm actually really happy with it but I can't even share a scan because I had to post it straight away and didn't get a chance to scan it! That NEVER happens usually but I'll share when I eventually get it back. Ha ha ha who knows you might see it again in SC before I have it back in my hands if I do any good with it! lol Oh the joy of optimism......! I don't like to work under pressure and don't like deadlines but sometimes my best stuff turns up that way, it's weird but not something I'd like to make a habit of.

So a couple of Movieworld photos for you just quickly....

I'm eternally grateful that Doug took one good photo of me. I don't have a gazillion pics of myself but regardless of what I think about having my photo taken I know my kids will want those photos one day, not just a few here and there stuck in old albums. I know I wish I had more photos of my mother and so that reminds me to put ego issues aside and make sure somebody takes a few pics of me every now and then. Whether they make it to layouts is another issue......! lol

This month's June class timetable will be up on Cyberscraps probably either tonight or tomorrow. We have a new range of beginners classes, an intermediate altered alphabet sticker class and an advanced Fancy Pants Stamps and watercolour class as well as a chipboard tag mini album for adults and every Sunday we have two kids classes - for June it's a kids' canvas class and a chipboard tag mini album for kids. The kids always love these classes and walk away with something pretty special at the end of it.

I'm off to do some more cleaning now. I've just done the bathroom. I have to admit I'm a really lazy cleaner so I just turn the shower on, aim it at the floor next to the bath and use a broom to sweep the tiles that way!! I totally loathe cleaning so if I can make it quicker, faster, more efficient then I'm sure going to do it that way. I know there will be women out there who know the "proper" way to clean a house but let me tell ya - if it's clean then it's clean and I really don't care about the whys and hows of how it got that way. I've got more important things to worry about - like how to get the kids to keep it that way!!!! lol

Well I'm going to do a quick pick up and get changed out of the daggy cleaning clothes now and head over to Cass's place. We've got a little project brewing between us and we need to get the basics sorted out today so I'm going to be in project management mode while we get things started. Of course I'll share when I have something more interesting than just chat to share with you about it! It's all centred around our first love - scrapbooking - (the menfolk and kids do rank right up there but we have to be straight with each other don't we girls?!?!?!) and that's basically all I'm sayin' right now!

Quick shout-outs to my freestyle rockin' mate Lusi, the v.spesh Miss JillyGG, a huge thanks to Ngaire for last week - I had a blast and make sure you get in touch about the ink party! - and to Ali Stafford - we know you're flat out girl but the comfy chair and Woodies are a'waitin' for ya!!!!

This Friday we've got open crop day. Come on in if you've got nothing else on and have a seat, have a cuppa and have a scrap with us! We promise we don't bite and we're lots of fun!!! Plus you'll have access to some of the cheapest supplies all around you while you work if you suddenly find you're missing that special something for a layout. Give us a ring at the shop on 3274 5522 if you want to come and scrap with Cass and I on Friday.

Back later chickies and I'll post up some sneaky peeks of the June class projects. I'm not a huge OTP fan but I did a chipboard tag album that I'm really really happy with so I'll take some happy snaps and put them up later.

Oh hey I forgot to ask - is anyone going to the Scrapbooking Convention next week in Brisbane??? Cass and I are going but not sure what day yet. If anyone is going maybe we can meet up for a Woody or a chardy afterwards and talk shop or scrap or something?!?!?!!?

Much love to ya chickies!!!!! Mwah Lu

Sorry to have been away so long!!!!!

Where to begin??? Busy week (aren't they all!) with working at the shop, trying to get the June class timetable finished and generally I had a week last week where I felt like the universe had it in for me! One thing after another went wrong and didn't stop the whole week and I wondered about a million times what I'd done to deserve it!!! I did the whole June class timetable and then it didn't save properly so that was an hour or so of work gone. It's not hard to re-do, just a pain in the butt to have to re-do, then my 12yo got a toothache and had to come home from school. We gave him something for the pain but by that night it was getting worse and he was a crying mess so we gave him Panadeine which by 5am the next morning had him vomiting all over the place for hours on end so no more painkillers for him! So I dragged the whole tribe to the school dental hospital only to be told that they don't do walk in emergencies any more. He's crying, still vomiting and howling and they refused to see him!!!!! They told me to call a number on the card they gave me and that I could come back when they had an appoitment available. They said even if poor Blayd sat there all day they'd still see the booked appointments first. So they can't see him until at least late that afternoon they tell me on the phone after I've put them all back in the car, driven to the shop and used the phone there. So in desperation I ring Doug and tell him that I can't bear to see the kid in so much pain so I drove him to a very kind and lovely private dentist that I go to sometimes. We don't have private cover so $200 freaking bucks later he walks out again. It was something that had to be fixed and wouldn't have gone away on its own but the money really stung and I had to have all four kids at home for the rest of the day and couldn't get any typing done so I had to stay up til midnight Thursday night typing and then up again at 4am on Friday to get the rest finished. By Friday I was frazzled to say the least. My 9yo was attempting to break the record for how much of an @#%hole he could be in one week and then Cass had to leave the shop early on Friday because her little one got a temp (which was fixed with a shot of panadol and a bag of chips) so I got to man the post alone for the rest of the day. Then I had to go shopping for Blayd's birthday presents Friday night and didn't get home until 7pm so dinner was rushed. Saturday I had to work in the shop for a few hours and then my sister came over to stay the night because we were taking her, along with Doug's mother plus our four kids and Cass's son to Movieworld on the Sunday.

Movieworld was so much fun. My sister does all the rides and this year, for the first time, Blayd has been big enough to go on everything and finally brave enough too. So he, Scott, Lesha and I went on absolutely everything. It was terrifying on things like the Batwing Spaceshot and the Superman Escape but that was the reason I made myself do them. I was a bit scared but I was going to be damned if I'd let fear stop me from going on something that was probably lots of fun. So I gritted my teeth and had the best time. I'll post some pics later when I've got a bit more time cos I'm borrowing Cass's computer right now but let's just say it was serious fun!!!

I've decided on my tattoo as well - it's the Marah Johnson winged heart on her transparency sheet and I'm going to keep it that large size too. I'm then going to have written inside the heart "feel the fear and do it anyway" - I think Erica De Jong said that - feminist I believe but let me know if I'm wrong - about who said it and if they were a feminist or not!!! Movieworld showed me that if I had let fear stop me from going on those rides I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun. It's okay to be scared but it shouldn't stop you, that's my thinking. I spent the drive home thinking about what I'd have missed out on if I'd let fear stop me that day, and I thought about how my life would be different if I'd let fear stop me from leaving my unhappy first marriage, if I'd let fear stop me from submitting my layouts, lots of things really. That kind of ties back to my little goals I've had for the last couple of years, doing things I've always wanted to do but have been a bit scared to do. So that's the plan and I'm going to start saving up to get it done but I'll have to price it first. If you know of anyone in Brisbane that you would totally trust to ink your body for life then please let me know. I want to be sure I get someone who knows what they're doing and will be able to do exactly what I want - all very hygenically of course!!! lol

I'll be back later when I've got some more time but have a cool day chickies!!!! Love, Lu

More layouts and a cracker of a layout idea that I can't actually do right now :(

Well chickies I'm sitting at Cass's place, using her computer and I would be using her island bench to scrap at except that I've had a great idea for a layout only to discover that I don't have the HUUUUUGE pile of pink bling I'll need to do the best part with! Even worse - I'm not too sure where I'm going to get the HUUUUge amount of pink bling I'll need either......hmmmmm.....

So while I did want to get somthing done today, I've admitted defeat and have resigned myself to the fact that I'll only be able to toss ideas around - and blog!!!! So I thought I'd share some layouts I've done of late. The one up the top I did for SM's "Decorative Edges" page call - I took to it with a craft knife and the black border is what happened when Cass scanned it for me. The middle one I've wanted to do for a while as I've had an obsession with those pink jelly sandals long before I ever had a daughter to wear them on!!! lol The bottom one is my Cyberscraps May Get Real Challenge - scrapping our mistakes (as long as we learned something from them!). It documents my mistake of getting married very young and for mostly the wrong reasons. I hope one day my two sons from that marriage will read it and hopefully get at least a glimmer of why my relationship with their dad didn't work out and why I made the decision to get divorced. I grapple with that decision a lot - even though I'm totally convinced it was the right thing for me to do - for my sons and for me - but my self-knowledge that I did the right thing doesn't equate to them understanding the whole messy situation and why I chose the path I did. I also hope they'll forgive me one day even if they don't fully understand why I made the decisions I did.

So tomorrow is shop day again. I think I'll have to wait until then to do the layout I'm thinking of, even making a start on it and the bling dilemma I'll deal with later. Heaven forbid I'll have to substitute tiny blobs of Kindy Glitz if I can't get the bling I want!!!! More typing to do tonight even though I'd rather be scrapping and we've got to do the groceries as well - fun, fun, fun!!!!

Later babes! Lu

Work, work, work today!

I opened the shop today as Cath had her son's school fete on (which I hope went really well btw!). I had planned to finish off a layout that I started on Friday but when I got into the shop I realised I had left the plastic layout carrier at home - with the layout in it!!! I took it out of the car on Friday night to show Doug's mother my most recent stuff and It's still here in the house!!! DUH FOR ME! So I had to start something new which irks me cos the Friday layout is still unfinished and now I have to type this evening so I won't get a chance to finish it off then either. I had a photo of Ronin (my nephew, Cass's littlest boy) in a quiet moment at the Good Friday photo shoot. Now Ronin, like my Caeligh, is a real little tearaway and quiet moments are few and far between so I thought it was worth scrapping. I haven't had a chance to scan it yet but maybe I can have it up tomorrow. My mum and little sister came in to keep me company and watch me scrap - I've warned them to be careful cos once you're bitten by the scrapping bug it's all downhill from there for your wallet and free time!!!! lol

I've also done my layout for the Cyberscraps GET REAL Challenge for May - scrapping your mistakes that you've learned from. I chose to scrap about my decision to get married very young and for not all the right reasons. The journalling takes up most of the layout but I'm still really happy with the result. It's another one that I have to ask the delightful Cass to scan for me so I can put it up.

The only other thing I've done is a layout on Lachlann and his (almost) favourite amusement - dominos. The plastic kind that you line up in complicated rows and designs and then tip the first one and watch the domino effect as they all topple one after the other. Can't believe how much he enjoys playing with them, rows, circles, even creates obstacle courses to see if it will work that way!

I've got work on at the shop tomorrow and can't wait until Ali pops in to scrap with us. Is Monday morning too early to open Woodies to scrap with?????? Most likely yes I'm afraid though the Coke will be definitely flowing!

Cass has made me agree that if I'm not doing Masters this year then I should submit for Elite Team instead. That's only a five layout portfolio which I think is much more achievable for me right now than the Masters tasks as I'm on a roll with layouts and don't feel like doing much else. I'm also going to submit for SC's colour comp with a black and green layout I did about my boys' disgusting messy bedroom. I did warn them that if they didn't keep it clean I'd do a layout about it and mummies everywhere would get to see how piggy their room looks!!!! I hope SC will pub it - just so I can use it as parental ammo for them to finally tidy up. It smells like a science experiment in there and I won't even go under the bed - I don't know who or what I'd find!!!!

A HUGE THANKYOU to whoever the kind person was who sent me a RAK this week!!!! I got three ziploc bags full of bits and bobs and I can't wait to use them! I hope the RAK-er doesn't mind that Lachlann wants to share them too - he said it felt like Christmas watching me open the bags and spread everything out! I've promised him I'll scan some of his layouts and give him his own album on Cyberscraps - I will get around to it eventually!

I can't think of much else right now. Pizza for dinner tonight at the MIL's request (her birthday) and once we explained to her that things like Thai and Indian involved curries she decided to stick with something a little safer. That reminds me that I have to look at the cross-trainer in KMart this week which is on special. My gym did end up closing and I guess it's currently awaiting someone else to take it over and re-brand etc but in the meantime I'll have to start exercising of my own free will or I'll just put every kilo back on that I've lost in the last month and we just cannot have that!

Hope you've all had a relaxing weekend or at least had fun if you had to run about like mumma taxis and mad chickens! Love to ya's, Lu

A break in the drought!!!! (the pub one that is!!!)

Oh thank goodness - I was starting to believe I'd lost the scrapping plot completely as I haven't had an acceptance from SM in AGES!!!!!! Today they accepted "Part Time Girly Girl" that I did on Monday at the shop. It has the scalloped edges with ribbon through them and the red centred flowers. I liked it at the time, mainly because I used the watercolour pencils on that layout for the first time ever and I was happy with the result of that. I didn't even remember that SM had a Decorative Edges gallery coming up and that's what it was taken for. So I'm doing the happy dance now. There's nothing harsher on the mojo than having at least once acceptance every week and then BAM!! months of submitting stuff that I thought was just as good as the things that had been accepted already but with nothing but slappings every week. I do feel for people who submit, submit, submit and get nothing taken. I can sit here all I like and spout righteous crap about "it shouldn't matter if it's accepted or not", "as long as you like it, it's perfect" etc etc but anyone who has had something accepted knows that it's still a little exciting and I hope that doesn't ever wear off for me. If the buzz of having something accepted evaporated then I don't think I'd bother to submit at all!!!! All said though, when Cass and I sat and inspected our respective slappings today I thought to myself "does it really matter that much?" and I figured it isn't a be all and end all even though it's nice. So don't make it the be all and end all for you if you submit. Unbeknownst to lots of scrappers, the decision to not accept a layout can come down to something as insignificant as space restrictions, or a call being full already or cliche as it sounds it may just not be what they're looking for right now. Slightly harshing but not the end of the world. Worse things have happened to nicer people - that's my life motto these days and it really helps to jerk things swiftly into perspective for me if I'm having a bit of a self indulgent sooky-wah because I've had a layout I like rejected. No biggie.

Because I've decided to let Masters go, the creative juices have really been switched on this week. I got another two layouts done at Cass's place today and that was even with three little kids in the house interrupting every five seconds. One I've still got with me cos I need something from the shop tomorrow to finish it off and the second I'm waiting for darling Cass to scan for me.

OH HEY I ALMOST FORGOT!!!!! - if you live in Brisbane and would like to attend a class with the super fab Ngaire Bartlam then I've got some fab news for you!!!! We've got a couple of places left in her upcoming classes at Cyberscraps - this very Saturday 19th May from 2-4pm (be super quick if you want the last couple of places in that one!) and next Wednesday night 23rd May from 7-9pm. The layout Ngaire is going to help you to make is absolutely gorgeous and uses the Basic Grey Stella Ruby range of papers. Ngaire is one popular gal as her work is so amazing and her classes are usually all booked solid so if you're fast you'll still grab a chair and get your chance to learn from the best. The shop number is 3274 5522 - pick up that phone now woman!!!!!!!

We've also got crop day tomorrow so if you're a local and you've got nothing on the cards why not stop in at the shop for a few hours of fun, nattering and most importantly scrapping! We supply morning tea and something delish from the bakery nearby. All you need to bring is whatever you're working on right now, or just bring your gear and some pics and start something new! Cass and I will do our best not to take up the entire table!!!!! lol

Before I go - shout out to my best girl Cass who has ROCKED the brand spankin' new issue of Scrapbooking Memories (Vol 12 which some subscribers have just started receiving) with THREE fantastic layouts and her Real Life, Real Stories article with matching gorgeous layout too!!! WAY TO GO MY FAV GIRL!!!!!! Also a big shout out to the SUPREMELY TALENTED Lusi Austin who's right there along side, ROCKIN' with the best of 'em!!!! Much love to you babe! This month's SM is fabulous and what about that cover?!?!?!?! Absolutely gorgeous!!

Okay now I have to go do some grown up stuff like be a parent and make dinner but I'll be back real soon now ya hear!!!!!!! Later babes, Lu

Mojo is going strong - but only for fun stuff!!!

Two more layouts from my time at the shop today. Very quiet customer wise, as is the case with most of the shops along the street however. We're starting to wonder if our customers have been snatched by aliens this week!!!! lol The top layout was done with watercolour pencils. I kind of got a bit hooked after the flowers on Caeligh's layout from Monday and went a bit bananas this time!!! Loved the result though and I'll definitely play around a bit more with them. The rock layout is a little more my style and those itty bitty Making Memories alphas are a pain in the ass but I really like how they turned out! Only problem is that I use "h" far more than I had ever realised so had to buy another packet of them just for that one letter!!! lol

I'm off to pour myself a glass of red. I'm going to surprise Doug with a night sort of alone - as alone as you can get as a couple in a house with four children anyway - and feed, bath and send the kidlets off to watch a movie, something I never ever usually do during the week. I feel like I've really neglected him in the past couple of weeks and right now the distance feels just enormous and I hate that so much. He's my rock and does everything for me and I don't like to think that he is feeling neglected or apart from me. He's so patient that he won't ever crack up about it either, just wait for me to sort of come back into orbit and get back to our usual closeness. Just feels like it's taken too long this time so I'm going to have to make more effort.

Have a nice evening chickies! Talk to you tomorrow, Lu

Chugging along

Another up late and up early again so I can get the typing finished. I hate typing now that I'm working in the shop instead but every bit of income counts and I don't like watching Doug worry about the money thing if I can be doing more to help. The typing isn't hard or difficult, just no fun! But I was a good girl and did all of my dermatologist's stuff last night and even invoiced him (aren't I an efficient girl?!?!) and did half of the cardiologist's stuff last night and I'm in the midst of finishing off the rest as I type - or as I should be typing that is!

I got some layouts done at the shop yesterday - not exactly for the shop and not for Masters either! My bad........ I don't know what it is about Masters this year. Last year I was slack about it even though I wanted it and still didn't get my stuff done until the last week so naturally it was crap and this year I thought I wanted it too but watching Cass power ahead with her absolutely amazing entry has really slowed me down. It's as though I'm being told to wait and that it isn't my time yet so I don't even feel bad about not wanting to enter now, just accepting that I will have a go next year. I just honestly feel like it isn't my time and it's one of those really constantly nagging feelings I've learned that I'm not supposed to ignore. Why would it not be my time, I hear you ask??? I ask the same thing but it feels right to let it go this year and I'm ver at peace with that. Besides I have every faith that Cass will go all the way as SM love her to bits (as we all do!!! and so they should as well) and I know that it can take up a certain amount of time from a scrapper's life to be involved in something like Masters. I am totally hapy to sit back and enjoy her success with her. I also haven't had nearly as much pubbed as Cass has and another twelve months to build my publication resume wouldn't hurt either I don't think. I haven't been offered a product challenge by SM yet and I'd really like to snare one of those or a cover first, as I think those sort of things help you to build a bit of a rep that I don't have yet and I'm positive that counts when they look at Masters entries. I'm sure that as soon as SM get some people's entries they already stick them in the shortlisted pile as they know they will be consistently good and I'd like to be one of those people, just maybe not this year. I can hear Cass's wails of horror right now as she reads this but I can't change what the universe is telling me!

So my layouts from Monday.....

The first one is a bit of a muck around with watercolour pencils which I haven't used before and the second is a layout using Marah Johnson Intentions paper. I love the stuff to bits but it can be really hard to work with sometimes. I love the pattern on the paper so much that I struggle with covering it up, even with a photo!!!!! Here's hoping some nice mag will like them as much as me!!!! lol

Okay off to tend to the screeching tribes and get up and out of here for the day! Chat to ya later chickies!!!! Love, Lu